From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordSphaira is a sphere, occurring in geometry and in accounts of the heavens.
- In StobaeusThe arithmetic excerpt places bodies within a sphere and names a difficult fifth “vessel” of the sphere.
- In this edition“Sphere” is appropriate in both settings, with the surrounding explanation determining whether a body, region, or form is intended.
- A place to beginA cosmic sphere contains the named elemental bodies.
- English renderings
- sphere; spherical body
Meaning
Sphaira is a sphere, occurring in geometry and in accounts of the heavens. Geometrical sphere and cosmic sphere must be distinguished by context.
Use in the book
The arithmetic excerpt places bodies within a sphere and names a difficult fifth “vessel” of the sphere. A clearer epistemological passage treats sphere itself as an intelligible form alongside circle and triangle. One use organizes the cosmos spatially; the other concerns the kind of object known.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Sphere” is appropriate in both settings, with the surrounding explanation determining whether a body, region, or form is intended.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 18, 316–317. The “vessel of the sphere” in Arith.3d is textually difficult and does not securely identify the fifth body.